Washington, D.C. and Maryland sue gun shops for allegedly fueling regional gun violence through illegal firearm trafficking.
At a Glance
- Three Rockville gun shops are being sued for their alleged roles in gun trafficking.
- The lawsuit addresses “straw selling,” wherein one person buys guns for others who cannot legally own them.
- The civil lawsuit stems from a 2021 firearms trafficking investigation.
- The case aims to hold gun dealers accountable without infringing on Second Amendment rights.
Legal Actions Against Gun Shops
Maryland and Washington, D.C., are taking legal measures against three gun shops in Rockville. These establishments are accused of enabling illegal firearm trafficking, thus exacerbating gun violence in the area. The lawsuit claims that these shops flagrantly ignored both federal and state laws.
The lawsuit specifically targets Engage Armament, United Gun Shop, and Atlantic Guns. These stores allegedly sold a total of 34 semiautomatic pistols over seven months to a straw purchaser, Demetrius Minor, without taking necessary precautions. In 2021, Minor bought the guns for Donald Willis, who had a criminal past and was ineligible to buy firearms.
A new lawsuit claims that legal firearms dealers might be contributing to the problem of illegal firearms.https://t.co/XWaf2aEm4c
— KTXS News (@KTXS_News) September 4, 2024
The Basis of the Lawsuit
The civil action, filed in Montgomery County Circuit Court, originates from a 2021 investigation. Authorities discovered that the implicated gun shops ignored multiple red flags that should have alerted them to illegal activities. Engage Armament sold 25 guns in five months, United Gun Shop sold five guns in eight weeks, and Atlantic Guns sold four guns in a month, all in 2021.
“Clearly, these stores played a role in supplying firearms used in crimes across our region,” Brown said.
The lawsuit quotes Eric Tirschwell from Everytown Law, stating, “The defendants repeatedly sold numerous similar handguns to a single straw purchaser in a short period of time, sometimes multiple guns on the same day.” By doing so, these dealers have allegedly played a significant role in escalating gun-related crimes and violence in the region.
Three Montgomery County, Md., gun stores illegally sold dozens of weapons to a straw purchaser who then trafficked them into Washington, D.C., according to a lawsuit filed by Maryland and the district. https://t.co/2WVR1K7pIR
— Bloomberg Law (@BLaw) September 3, 2024
Consequences and Remedies
The lawsuit aims to hold these stores accountable through various remedies, including injunctive relief and financial penalties. Attorneys General Brian Schwalb from D.C. and Anthony G. Brown from Maryland emphasized that the lawsuit focuses on accountability for dealers, not law-abiding citizens exercising their Second Amendment rights.
“This case sends a clear message to those who disregard the law (that) we’ll go wherever necessary to hold you accountable for putting our communities at risk,” Brown added.
The flow of illegal weapons significantly fuels gun violence, with approximately 95% of guns recovered in Washington, D.C., originating from nearby Maryland and Virginia. The lawsuit attempts to disrupt this pipeline by holding the implicated gun shops accountable.
